Tropical Storm Maysak made landfall along the southwestern coast of China’s Hainan island province on Friday evening, unleashing winds of up to 23 metres per second — roughly 51 miles per hour — and triggering widespread transportation shutdowns across the region.
China’s National Meteorological Center reported the storm came ashore at approximately 6:20 p.m. local time, which is 10:20 a.m. GMT.
In addition to Hainan, the storm is forecast to dump heavy rain on Guangdong, Guizhou, and Hunan provinces, as well as the Guangxi region. Some parts of Hainan could receive as much as 350 millimetres of rainfall within a single 24-hour period, according to the national weather forecasting agency.
State broadcaster CCTV reported that Hainan’s Sanya Phoenix International Airport halted all takeoffs and landings beginning at 5 p.m., following the earlier cancellation of 92 flights by 11:30 a.m. All round-island high-speed rail services were also shut down for the day.
Ferry crossings across the Qiongzhou Strait were suspended starting at 2 a.m. and are expected to remain out of service for one to two days.
Officials called on authorities to intensify monitoring efforts and carry out evacuations from vulnerable areas, describing the flood prevention situation as “severe and complex.”
